New Year's Day
by emication
Summary: Heero made a promise to Duo, and he goes out to fulfill it.


Title: New Year's Day  
  
Author: Vinyl Koneko (Emily), roguegirl@att.net  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Warnings: in order of appearance...R+1, 1+2, random Japanese, language, warm fuzzy feelings, sympathetic Relena (WTF?!), series paraphrasing -=sweatdrop=-, my tensing probably shifts randomly, mentioned boy-boy sex (yumyum), sleepy author  
  
Archive: Want it? Take it. Just give me credit, please.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. If I did...well...I'd probably end up getting sued violating some personal right granted by law. 'Course that wouldn't count if I jumped ship to another country *with* no laws, now would it? Hmm... Well, they aren't mine, so don't worry about it. Neither is this song, for that matter. The song of the same title as the fic is actually owned by U2...not sure which album it's from, though. -=sweatdrop=-  
  
Comments: //Lyrics// and *emphasis* and 'thought' and [flashback]. Shouldn't be too hard to remember, right? :-pPppP The lyrics are from the Internet, so the song probably doesn't follow exactly. Gomen. I also might have mucked around with the end of Endless Waltz a little. I don't remember what day it ended on. Sorry if it's corny! -=hides=-  
  
*~**~*  
  
//Yeah...//  
  
I slowly crack my eyes open and wonder why everything's sore. The events come crashing into my memory; firing at the underground complex of Mariemaia, ZERO falling to pieces, infiltrating the base...  
  
["I don't have to kill anymore."]  
  
I'm in the hospital. Chikusho.  
  
I sit up slowly and pull the IVs out of my arms along with the little sensors that tell the machines I'm not dead. The machine drones on monotonously; it thinks my heart has stop beating. Baka kikai.  
  
Hurried footsteps are approaching the door and it flies open, the knob leaving a dent in the white walls.  
  
"Oh...Heero, you're awake."  
  
'Honto ni? I didn't notice.' I bite back the remark. That's something Duo would say. 'Duo...'  
  
["Looks like we're gonna have to fight again. Kuso. I was just getting used to peace, too," Duo gave a lop-sided, devil-may-care grin. He was hiding the pain; he didn't want to fight; he didn't want to see others fight, as well.  
  
"Hn. Baka," I replied. I wasn't looking forward to, either, but fighting was what we were trained for. If we didn't fight, someone else would have to.  
  
His expression softened. "Just promise me that you won't do anything stupid and suicidal." I didn't reply, that time. He was asking too much. I think he meant to. Duo sighed, the chestnut fringe of his bangs obstructing my view of those entrancing amethyst eyes. "Well there's gotta be *something* you can promise me."  
  
I closed my eyes. 'What *can* I promise him? The fighting will be over after this. We were supposed to be disposible...not even *supposed* to live this long.'  
  
I was surprised when I felt arms wrap around my neck; reopening my eyes I saw that our faces were mere centimeters apart. "Just forget about it; I'm asking too much."  
  
"Iie...you aren't," I replied softly, dropping my control. I held his face with one hand, tracing my thumb down his nose and over those soft lips. "If something happens, I will find you."  
  
"Itsu?"  
  
"New Year's."]  
  
It had been sealed with a kiss. "Relena...what day is it?"  
  
She titled her head. "The first. Nande?"  
  
'How long have I been here? It couldn't have been more than a couple months. There's snow falling.' "Of what month?"  
  
"January. Heero, why?"  
  
//All is quiet on New Year's Day  
A world in white gets underway//  
  
'Eleven hours, twenty-three minutes, sixteen seconds and counting.' "I need to go," I announce.  
  
"You're still hurt," Relena gives me that look...the one where innocence is broadcasted through every line, every movement.  
  
["'Niichan, are you lost?"]  
  
"I'll live."  
  
"But Heero, you're in pain!"  
  
I narrow my eyes and meet her own. "I've felt worse."  
  
["Looks like I was destined to be killed by you. ... Hey! You're really gonna shoot me!"  
  
"If that is what you wish."]  
  
"Can I help you, at least?" 'Hai, Relena...go away.'  
  
"Duo wa doko ni imasu ka?"  
  
She blinked, obviously confused by my question. "I told you before you could stay with me."  
  
'Why is she playing dumb?' "And I told you no," I said, more sternly. "Where is Duo?" I repeated, this time in English.  
  
Relena let out an exasperated sigh. "I *don't* know, Heero. Why does it matter?"  
  
"I promised Duo that I'd find him."  
  
There was no immediate response, but I heard another door open and suddenly my clothes were being thrown onto the hospital bed. "Gomen nasai, Heero. Tokyo, I think...with that Hilde girl." She looked at me and shrugged. "You can't blame me for trying, but now I understand the truth. Find him, Heero, and be happy."  
  
//I want to be with you  
Be with you night and day  
Nothing changes on New Year's Day  
On New Year's Day//  
  
Relena left. She said she'd cover everything. 'Kisama, Duo, why Tokyo? The time zone change gives me less time to work with, and I can't just take a shuttle. Wait for me...onegai...'  
  
//I will be with you again  
I will be with you again//  
  
*~**~*  
  
//Under a blood red sky  
A crowd has gathered in black and white//  
  
'Tokyo... Would you believe me if I told you I've never visited this city before? Neo-Tokyo, hai, demo not the original.' The sun is setting, making the sky look like a bloodbath over the Pacific. 'See what fighting has done to us? Sunsets are supposed to be aesthetically pleasing, but I compare it to a battlefield.'  
  
["Heero, get off that damn laptop! It's a beautiful evening...look!" They were stationed in a cabin, abandoned in an Alaskan forest. No cities were around for hundreds of miles, and yet for some reason OZ thought a MS manufacturing facility would be the perfect addition to the undeveloped terrain. "It's like magic. You think you can see all the stars possible, but then you're eyes adjust to the darkness a little more and you can start to see the smaller and dimmer ones."  
  
"Maybe you just think you're seeing something that really isn't there," I had replied, not noticing the sadness that overcame Duo's expression until he brought it up again later.]  
  
//Arms entwined, the chosen few  
The newspapers says, says   
Say it's true it's true...//  
  
'Reaching you now should be easy,' I reason. Duo's latest gimmick had been his cel phone. I can put a tracer on it and figure out where koi is, but he has to be within a certain distance.[1]  
  
I sit down at a table outside a restaurant, booting up my computer and starting the program.  
  
["Heero!" I got tackled to the permacrete and almost broke the neck of my attacker when I recognized who it was. "War's over, man, you did it!"  
  
"We," I corrected gently, noticing our prone position in the middle of the hangar. Duo was sitting on top of me, legs straddling either side of my body. We were alone. Trowa had helped Quatre to the medbay moments before and Wufei seemed to have disappeared.  
  
"Yeah...we," Duo's eyes shone, and the reality of the situation dawned on me. Not just that the war was over, mind you, but that I had this beautiful boy hovering over me. I didn't remember feeling like I lost control, but I remember grabbing the base of his skull, fingers entwined in his soft, chestnut hair, and pulling his face towards mine. When his lips met mine, it felt almost magnetic, like that was how it was meant to be.  
  
//And we can break through  
Though torn in two   
We can be one//  
  
We had sex that night. You can use whatever reason you like, but Duo or myself would say that we made love; we just hadn't told each other our precise feelings yet. Duo told me that he loved me afterwards, and I reciprocated. With the war over, we had no reason to be afraid of how we felt. No one would have to die too early.  
  
And then the Barton group came along.]  
  
//I...I will begin again  
I...I will begin again//  
  
'I found your location, Duo. Stay where you are; I will come for you, just like I promised.'  
  
A store on the other side of the street grabs my attention. 'It won't take that long,' I reason. And it didn't. Less than half an hour later I find myself in the lobby of the hotel, asking the clerk if Duo are staying here. He says that there is a Duo Maxwell signed in. He gives me the room number, and I thank him.  
  
I'm feeling too impatient to wait in line for the elevator, so I opt for the stairs. With him in room 1015, that's only ten flights of stairs I have to run up. Nimnu ryokai.  
  
//Oh...maybe the time is right  
Oh...maybe tonight...  
I will be with you again  
I will be with you again//  
  
I glance at my watch as I reach the tenth floor, breath harder than I should be. The injuries are causing more problems than their worth, but I guess that's my fault for being stupid. At least I made it with forty-two minutes still on the clock. I knock on the door, hear shuffling inside, knowing it must be Duo, and wait.  
  
The door opens, but the chain is keeping it from opening all the way. 'Watashi no Duo; still being precautious about people that might try to kill you.'  
  
"Heero!" Duo gasps, shutting the door to unlock the chain and then letting me in. He looks like he was sleeping. His violet eyes are all fuzzy like they are when he just wakes up, and strands of his hair are sticking out from the confining braid in strange places. 'Not to mention that he's just wearing sweatpants...' "Y-You found me!" he sounds disbelieving as I get ushered into the room.  
  
"Baka. I told you I w-mmph!" The rest of my words are muffled as his mouth covers mine and his tongue drives me wild. He pulls back for a moment. "Ai shiteru."  
  
"Ai shiteru mo," I respond, planting a kiss on the tip of his nose and walk into the main part of the room. It had two beds, but I knew one was going to remain unslept in during our stay. I fumble my hand around in my coat pocket for a moment, feeling a blush creep to my face no matter how composed I try to remain.  
  
I forgot my back was to Duo until he hugs me from behind. "Hee-koi, what's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing," I turn to face him and allow a soft smile. I know how much the simple gesture means to him, perhaps even more than an infinite promises of I love yous. I remove the box from my pocket. "Duo...marry me?" I can't believe my own voice; I sound so unsure and afraid.  
  
//And so we're told this is the golden age  
And gold is the reason for the wars we wage  
Though I want to be with you  
Be with you night and day  
Nothing changes   
On New Year's Day//  
  
Duo smiles brightly, and any doubt I harbored vanished. He manages to tackle me onto the bed. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" he says pointedly, marking each word with a kiss on my mouth, jawline, neck, and collarbone. I reach down to aid Duo in his attempt to divest me of my pants and tanktop. I ignore the lingering pain in my body; Duo's what I need right now. No...Duo's what I will need always.  
  
There's an old tradition of making resolutions on New Year's. It seemed silly before, but I think I understand it, now, but my resolution won't end in a year. It'll keep going and get stronger as the years pass. My resolution is to kill the Perfect Soldier and become the Perfect Husband because that is what Duo deserves.  
  
//On New Year's Day//  
  
*~**~*  
  
Owari  
  
[1] That would work, right? They did it in Independence Day! 


End file.
